


Interludes

by shuubunni



Series: Kingdom Hearts: Shards of Darkness [2]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-12
Updated: 2019-02-12
Packaged: 2019-10-26 23:11:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 17,096
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17755274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shuubunni/pseuds/shuubunni
Summary: Interludes take place between main chapters! They're mostly filler, but have character interactions as well as depth and growth. They will also include fluff later down the line more than likely.





	1. The Training Begins!

**Author's Note:**

> I do these little things called "Interludes," which are in-between snippets I like to do that aren't part of the main narrative and aren't part of the main plot, but have good character building in them. They're not required reading in my fanfics, but are fun reads if you want to go for them! They tend to be more light-hearted then usual since I have a loooot of angst in my stories, lol.
> 
> This specific one takes place between chapters 2 and 3!

 

It had been a day since the giant Heartless was defeated, greatly easing up on the dark energy that produced the Heartless.

Shidou had decided that perhaps it was best they rest up before moving on. Ashino had protested, but Shidou was rather insistent. Giving in, the stoic samurai allowed for this (not that Shidou needed her permission), Shidou and Sora each getting a bed, while oddly enough Ashi slept on the floor. Did she really dislike Shidou that much? But before Sora could ask, or get to know the girls better, he passed out as soon as he hit the mattress.

He was roused early in the morning by Shidou, and all Sora could think about was _sleeping some more_.

“Come on, kiddo!” She said brightly, obviously a chipper morning person, “Most of the City’s been abandoned due to the Heartless invasion, so Ashino commandeered the kitchen!”

“…Ehh…” Sora grumbled, cracking one blue eye open to see the grinning face of Shidou. Moaning, he reached one of his large awkward hands and rubbed his face with it. “…D-do I have to get up…?”

“Don't know a _thing_ about her, but judging by the smell, you're going to want to be here for it!” Shidou grabbed onto one of Sora’s scrawny arms and gave a yank. He groaned in response, “You’re going to need your strength for today!”

“…Okay, okay…” Sora grumbled, pushing himself off of the bed and rubbing his eyes. Even though he slept for close to 9 or 10 hours, he still felt _exhausted_ from everything that happened last night. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he followed after the enthusiastic Shidou out of the room and down the hallway. Or rather, he _stumbled_ after her, still a bit too out of it to really walk properly.

As they neared the end of the hallway, something perked his senses right up; the delicious smell of home-cooked breakfast. The scent of mettlesome wafted through the air. The scent of food reminded Sora of how hungry he was – his stomach giving an incredibly loud growl to display this. Shidou disappeared into the kitchen before he did, the doors swinging closed.

Slowly, Sora opened the doors. In his delirium of being half-asleep, as soon as he graced the threshold into the kitchen, he saw his mother standing at the griddle. As she looked up and smiled at him, the vision slowly melted away to see Ashi standing there, meeting his gaze with her distant gaze.

It was…odd.

Sora was standing in the kitchen, _clearly_ looking into Ashi’s pale blue eyes, yet his nose told him his mother was cooking breakfast. He even rubbed his own eyes a few times _just to make sure_ , and sure enough, it was Ashi standing there. It made him feel homesick to remember his mother's cooking.

“Is there something you want to say to me, Sora?” Ashi inquired after he store at her for a while, returning her gaze down to her cooking.

“Yeah, that was _quite_ the intense stare you gave her!” The voice of Bartz teased.

Sora then realized he wasn’t the only one in there with Ashi. Shidou, Leon, Yuna and Bartz were all there; all of them staring at _him_. Fuku was as well, merrily eating carrots on one of the counters, and was the only one who didn't notice his stare. When he realized they were looking at him, Sora turned bright red and looked away from Ashi, who was too focused on cooking to really notice.

“I-it’s just that…it smells kind of like my _mom_ is cooking…” He muttered sheepishly.

“What? Is your mom some kind of a chef?” Shidou snarked, leaning against the bar that surrounded the kitchen, giving Fuku a pat on the head.

“…Yeah…she kind of is…” Sora sighed unhappily, once again reminded of his home that was no longer there. Shidou practically fell over when she heard this, but quickly righted herself and patted him gently on the head.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to strike a nerve.” She apologized. Sora shook his head.

“No, its okay,” He said with a weak smile, though it was forced. “Y-you didn’t know…”

“I’m sure you’ll see her again,” Yuna encouraged, smiling at Sora, “And your friends, Sora.”

“T-thanks…” His response was somewhat halfheartedly, even with the conviction in Yuna’s voice.

“Everyone come get your food,” Ashi announced, placing a stack of plates next to the griddle, “Take as much as you want, I made plenty.”

Sora perked up at the notion of food, quickly grabbing his plate making a b-line for the food. Only to be somewhat surprised by what he saw.

“Err...”

It...wasn't what he expected to see for breakfast. There was an omelet of some sort, only they were plain. They were rolled into a thick roll, and then cut into portions. Beside it were some kind of...very pale buns? They were pinched at the top and didn't look baked, but possibly steamed. Beyond that sat several bowls of porridge, with sunny-side up egg, onion and yellow pepper floating in it. Also a large _whole fish_ , head and all!

“Something wrong?” Ashi asked, as the others were already stocking up their plates.

Sora blinked and looked up at her. “Um...where's the sausage, or pancakes?”

Ashi raised her eyebrow. “...What?”

“Y-you know!” Sora stated with exasperation, “Usual breakfast stuff! Fruit, waffles, bacon...sweet and savory things!”

“The buns are sweet,” Ashi informed casually, lifting one of them up with two wooden sticks and placing it on her plate. “But, Sora...I have no idea what those other things were you mentioned?”

Sora's jaw nearly hit the floor. How could she _not_ have heard of pancakes _or_ bacon?!

Shidou slid up behind him, plopping the slice of omelet onto her plate. “She's from a totally different world then us, remember?” She nudged him in the sides with her elbow, sliding past and putting two of the buns beside her omelet. “I'm guessing things are quite different there! This must be what you eat for breakfast, huh?”

“That's right.” Ashi nodded her head, giving a small gesture with it towards the food. “This is a light, healthy breakfast to keep up your strength, Sora.” She flashed an almost shy little smile down at him. “I'm a good cook too, I promise. You won't be poisoned.”

Sora poked at the bun with a fork. He pursed his lips. “Okay...if you say so...” He began to pile his plate up with each item. The fish had been divided up between everyone already, so he got stuck...with the head. Ugh! It was going to keep staring at him and--

“I can take the head if you'd rather some of the cheek, Sora.” He turned around to see Ashino standing behind him, who had noticed how creeped out he was at the dead fish staring blindly up at him.

“Yes!!” He nearly _threw_ the head at her. Thankfully, her reflexes were sharp so she easily caught it. Carefully, she slid the piece she had taken onto his plate, and then walked over to the table where the others sat.

“Be careful, there are bones in it,” Ashi added casually. Sora nodded and flopped down in his chair, his stomach giving a growl. Gosh, he was more hungry then he thought!

Bartz was already shoving food into his mouth left, right and center, and Yuna politely ate her food. Shidou, however, looked less enthusiastic about everything now that she was eating it. Was it bad? Sora gulped and looked down at his plate, poking at the piece of fish absentmindedly.

“This is quite good, Ashino.” Yuna said with a pleasant smile.

“Thank you, I do try.” Ashi met Yuna's smile with a small one of her own, before popping a bun into her mouth.

“Dis iz grat!” Bartz announced beyond his full mouth. Yuna shot him a look, and he quickly swallowed and laughed nervously. “Seriously, though! Your cooking is always _amazing_ , Ashino!” She chuckled awkwardly and snuggled her chin into her scarf, as if to hide her embarrassment.

“It's, uh...a little bland?” Shidou muttered, poking at the porridge. Ashi store at her and quirked a brow, but said nothing in response. “I-I mean, compared to what I'm used to! I-I'm sure it's _really_ good where you come from, right?” She laughed and scratched the back of her head, hastily shoving another spoonful of porridge into her mouth. Ashi sighed and returned to her own meal.

Well, everyone else seemed to like it. Her goes nothing!

Sora lifted the bun up with his fork. When he sniffed it, it didn't smell like anything...but Ashi had said it was sweet, might as well give it a try first! Popping into his mouth, the first few bites were a little bland, like Shidou said, with a hint of sweetness in there. Until he got to the center.

“UGH!” He squawked, spitting it out onto his plate. Every immediately stopped eating to stare at him. Hastily, he grabbed for the water and began to chug it down. It was also some kind of disgusting paste! What the heck was in those?!

“Sora?” Ashi asked with concern, “You don't like beans?”

“ _WHAT?!_ ” He snapped his attention up to her, his eyes wide. “That was bean paste?!”

“Yes. Sweet bean paste,” Ashi said with a tilt of her head. Sora groaned and quickly stuffed some of the omelet into his mouth to get rid of the aftertaste.

“See, I'm not the _only_ one who doesn't like them, Yuna.” Leon said pointedly, only receiving a sigh in response from Yuna.

Sora continued to stare up at Ashi, completely _aghast_. As if the breakfast itself was unusual enough! “Who the heck puts beans in breakfast?”

“I do, as do my people from where I come from.” Ashi was getting a bit annoyed that he was insulting her cooking and culture, narrowing her eyes. “Beans are extremely healthy for you, containing lots of protein and fiber. You will need it for your training, and the battles ahead.”

“But _beans!_ ” Sora protested, flailing his arms, and nearly knocking over his water in the process. Ashi went to open her mouth, but Shidou swooped in.

“Like Ashi said, beans are good for you!” Her voice was bright and cheerful, popping one of them into her mouth. Sora went to protest, but she lifted a finger up to silence him. Once she finished eating it, she leaned her elbows on the table and rested her chin on top of her hand. “You want to grow up big and strong, right?”

Sora wasn't sure what she was getting at, narrowing his eyes suspiciously. “Y-yeah...?”

“Well, you've seen Ashino! She's _very_ strong, right?” She gave a wink at Ashi, who seemed to pick up on whatever Shidou was getting at. With a flourish, Ashi pulled her left arm out of her overcoat sleeves, and Sora noted that the sleeve off of her arm resembled how she looked when they met. She lifted the arm up and flexed it, displaying a very impressive bicep. Sora could feel his eyes nearly bug out at the sight of it, it looked like she could crush someone's skull with those arms!

“And guess what she ate?” Shidou waved the steamed bun in front of Sora.

Swallowing, he looked back over at her. “B-beans...?”

“That's right!” Tossing the bun into the air, Shidou leaned back and it fell into her mouth, where she leaned back forward and smirked while she chewed it.

“Beans are a very important part of our diet, Sora.” Ashino added on, sliding her arm back into her sleeve. “The only meat we eat is fish and pork, and that is sparring. We get all of our proteins from eggs and beans.”

“Yeah, but look at Leon! He hates beans, and he's jack--” Bartz stopped mid-sentence when Shidou elbowed him in the sides. “H-hey!” She shot him a look that Sora didn't get.

Sighing, he looked back down at his half-eaten bun. It was true; he wanted to be strong to fight the Heartless. No, he _needed_ to be strong. The world wouldn't save itself, after all! And he had seen how strong Ashi was. Swallowing hard, he lifted the bun up and, with some reluctance, put it into his mouth.

The taste hadn't improved, but he forced himself to chew and swallow it. He looked up at Ashi and nervously smiled.

“Good.” She gave him an approving nod. Rising up, she picked up her empty plate and bowl and began to move into the kitchen. “There's more food, if everyone wants.”

“YES!” Bartz was on his feet in a flash and booking it to where the food was left out. Yuna chuckled at his behavior, rising up as well.

“I will help you clean up, Ashino.” She smiled at the younger girl, following her in.

With Ashi gone, Shidou let out a groan and leaned on the table. “Okay, kiddo, first order of business: we need to get her some diddly-dang cook books!” She gestured to her plate, which was empty. “While I don't mind this, it ain't enough to keep me going!”

“I-I can't eat this stuff all the time, either!” Sora groaned, unable to eat the porridge either, due to how bland and weirdly-textured it was. Was it made of rice? “But, um...can't you cook?”

“Kid, I once set a microwave on fire. What do _you_ think?” Shidou crossed her arms and snorted.

“Um, wow.” Sora was shocked at how _astronomically bad_ Shidou was. Sure, he couldn't cook well either, but he at least knew how to use a microwave! “Y-yeah, we need to teach her how to _at least_ make waffles!”

“No kidding!” Shidou laughed, popping up to her feet. “I'll look for a bookstore around town while you're training with her.” She began to gather up her dishes.

“Okay.” Sora nodded, stuffing some fish into his mouth. That actually...was really, _really_ good. It was crispy on the outside and buttery and flaky on the inside. It practically melted into his mouth, and he sighed at how _good_ it was. Just as good as how his mom grilled fish! Quickly, he polished the rest of it off.

By now, Shidou had also disappeared into the kitchen to help with the clean up, and Bartz was undoubtedly still gathering food. Or just eating it all in there. This left Sora and Leon alone at the table.

Sora slowly looked up from his nearly empty plate of food over towards the silent man. He could just _feel_ Leon’s dark eyes burning holes into him the entire time, and now it was more preeminent then it was before. More over, as Sora looked over towards him, he noticed that Leon had barely _eaten_ anything; just a small piece of fish and a slice of omelet. It was like he was _intentionally_ not eating so he could stare angrily at Sora.

Swallowing his bit of fish, Sora addressed Leon; “Are you still miffed that the Keyblade chose me or something?”

Leon scoffed, “Tch. Why would I be worked up about _that_? As much as I hate to admit, I’m sure even a scrawny little brat like _you_ must have a good reason for being a member of the _chosen_.”

“H-hey!!” Sora shouted, abruptly standing up and glaring down at Leon, “What the heck is _that_ supposed to mean?!”

“It means,” Leon responded with his usual icy tone, “That you, a _kid_ with absolutely _no_ combat experience, noodley arms and giant feet, is _the_ most unlikely candidate for something as powerful as the Keyblade.” He scoffed again, raising his hand over his scar, “But, I suppose fate must have had a _good_ reason for choosing you.”

“Your dang right it does!” Sora exclaimed, glaring down at the cold Leon, “And I’ll prove it to you, too! I’ll be the _best_ Keyblade Master there has _ever_ been! Just you wait and see!”

“Heh, somehow I _doubt_ that will happen…” Leon snorted, returning Sora’s glare.

“You wanna bet?!” Sora shouted, “I’ll show you, Leon!” He turned over his shoulder and shouted towards the kitchen. “Ashi! You said you would train me, right?”

“That’s right.” Came her shouted response.

“Then let’s get started!” Sora proclaimed, shooting a confident grin down at Leon, who snorted again. However, he still had more fish and omelets to eat “…Once I finish eating, of course!” And he dug into his meal.

“Hmph,” Leon grunted, rising up and grabbing his Gunblade, which was leaning against the table. “It’ll be a cold day in hell if you manage to succeed in your notion, Sora.” He muttered in passing, exiting the kitchen.

 

Sora glared at him on the way out, knowing somewhere in his heart that he would prove Leon _wrong_ about him…somehow, someday.

  
~-~-~-~

 

With the leader of the Heartless gone, Traverse Town was a lot quieter. None of those buggy critters were popping up right now, though the second district was still quiet. No doubt the denizens were still too nervous to leave their fortified homes.

Sora stood across the courtyard with Ashi. Knowing how good she was, and that she seemed to be no-nonsense, had him a little...worried for their training. It sounded like she and Shidou would be splitting the training duties between them, and the stoic teenager would be focusing on his strength and combative abilities. He knew that training with her was going to be tough getting into this, but he wasn't sure _how_ tough. Gulping, he searched her eerie eyes for any clue as to how bad of a beat-down he was going to get.

“First, you're using the Keyblade all wrong.”

Well, at least he wasn't wrong.

Sora blinked and looked down at it in his hand, furrowing his brow. “But...you didn't even know what this _was_ until you got here, right?” He raised the Keyblade up and pointed to it with his off hand.

Ashi gave a disgruntled sigh. “I don't need to _know_ about a weapon's existence to know how to use it properly.” She reached out and grabbed the shaft of it with her hand, yanking Sora forward. He gave a startled yelp and staggered to keep his footing. “This is a blunt weapon. No blade, nothing to cut with.” She ran her fingers along it to demonstrate. “Even the jagged bits on top aren't sharp at all.”

“S-so?” Sora pouted. He pulled it from her grip.

“So,” Ashi's gaze became sharp and pointed, daggers stabbing into him and making him stand up straight. “You're using it like a _sword_. It's _not_ a sword.”

“I can see that!” He protested, but quickly closed his mouth with another soul-stabbing look.

“Swords are sharp, bladed weapons. They're used to slash and hack.” The tone in Ashi's voice said he needed to pay attention, and he straightened up more. “Which is what _you're_ doing.” He nearly protested again, but Ashi looked like she meant business. Something about her presence was much stronger, more commanding then it was when they were fighting. Sure, she was scary then too – and Sora was glad to have her on his side! - but this was a whole different level.

Suddenly, she walked behind him. Directly behind him. Sora looked up at her, feeling flushed at her sudden close proximity. “Forward, Sora.” Her words were sharp, but she wasn't shouting. With a yelp, Sora looked forward. “Now, you need to use the Keyblade how it's designed – a heavy, _blunt_ weapon.” Her hands came out and gripped his, shifting them so both hands were holding the hilt of the Keyblade. His heart jumped up into his throat briefly. Her delicate looking hands were strong, her fingers lined with rough callouses. She held his hands firmly and adjusted them to where they needed to be.

“Handle it mostly with both hands,” Ashi continued her instruction, “You'll have more power to your swings, especially downwards or upwards.” She stuck one of her feet between his, nudging them on both sides. “Move your feet apart, shoulders width.” Sora swallowed and nodded, sliding them outward so they stood how she described. “Bend your knees slightly. Loose, Sora. You want to keep your body loose when you fight.” She wiggled his arms a bit and nudged him with her chest.

It only made him tense up more, trying to focus. Ashi sighed. “No, Sora. You can't be tense, a band ready to snap.” Releasing her hold on him, she moved around to face him.

“B-but...aren't fighters usually wound up...?” He asked.

Ashi scoffed. “Not _good_ ones.” Reaching behind her back, she pulled out her naginata. “While we look strong and focused, our bodies are very loose. So when a surprise comes up, we can react accordingly.” She gestured towards him with her head. “Attack me.”

“Wha--” Sora's eyes went wide, “N-no! I don't want to hurt yo--”

His voice stopped when Ashi lunged forward and swung the blade of her naginata down towards him. He let out a startled gasp and went to move his Keyblade up to parry, but knew he couldn't make it in time. However, she stopped the blade right in front of his face, barely an inch from his nose. The color drained from his skin and he store up at it, his body trembling.

“You won't hurt me, Sora.” Ashi said, her voice surprisingly gentle. She lowered her naginata down and rested it against her shoulder. “And I have enough control where I won't hurt you when we spar.” However, her soft voice turned sharp and her eyes narrowed. “We _will_ be sparring a lot, so you will need to learn to forget your fear of hurting me. We will get cuts and bruises, but we will survive each bout and become stronger.”

Sora took a deep breath and pursed his lips. Calming his nerves, he gripped his Keyblade tightly again. With a nod, Ashi lowered her naginata into a fighting position. Fighting her with a weapon with a lot more reach then his was going to be a challenge, but he would figure it out. Right?

With a shout, he rushed forward, bringing his Keyblade down towards her. Or, well, he _thought_ he was. Ashi expertly swung her Naginata up and deflected his weapon, and in the same motion she brought it down towards him. Once again, he didn't have time to react, and she stopped the blade just shy of his neck.

“Wha--!” He gasped, stumbling backwards.

“See, you're too stiff.” She commented, lowering the weapon. “You need to relax, be light on your feet.” Returning the naginata to rest on her shoulder, she approached Sora again. “Hold your Keyblade gently, you need to be able to maneuver it. Loosen your body, relax. I know being in a fight is stressful, but find your zen. Get used to loosening up your whole body, and eventually it will be second nature.”

Sora pondered this. He had learned how to fight a bit from his mother, but most of it he learned from the other kids he would play-fight with on the Island. Primarily Riku. No one had told him these things before. But, come to think of it, Ashi's grip on her naginata was very gentle. Maybe there was something to it.

Taking a deep breath, he allowed it out slowly and rolled his shoulders, loosening them up. He bounced a bit on his feet, before assuming the position Ashi had taught him. Feet shoulders width apart, knees bent, light hold on the Keyblade.

“And focus your weight on the balls of your feet,” Ashi further instructed. “It will keep you light-footed and easier to maneuver in a fight.” Sora rocked back and forth on his feet a few times, before he found a good center on the balls of them. “Not your toes, the part just beyond them, before your arch.” Or...not, apparently. Sora raised a brow, having never really stood on that part of his foot before. Ashi flashed him an almost sarcastic grin, gesturing to his feet with her hand. “With feet as big as yours, I'm sure you'll find them.”

“Yeah, w-well, I—HEY!” Sora finally got the somewhat sarcastic insult, but once again she gave him one of those sharp looks. He pouted at her, before rolling back and forth on his feet. Eventually, after a few rocks and bouncing up and down a few times, he found what she was talking about. He thought. Looking up, Ashi gave him an approving nod, lowering her naginata down into a more ready position.

“Now, come at me again.”

With a shout, Sora dashed forward, swinging his Keyblade at her. Once again she parried his blow and rolled her shoulders to bring it down towards him. Raising his arms up, he successfully caught the shaft of the long weapon and cast it to the side.

Once he realized what he had done, his face lit up. “Did you see that, Ashi?! I did it!” He whooped, pumping his fist into the air.

“Too early for celebration, Sora.” Ashi's words gutted him, the enthusiasm he had evaporating into the air. “You did successfully parry my attack, because you loosened up. But we still have a _lot_ of work ahead.”

“But--”

“No buts. We need to get you trained quickly, and teach you how to use that odd weapon.” Ashi was as stern as ever, but he could tell she was glad he was getting it. Or was she? She was hard to read. And, honestly, Sora didn't know the first thing about her. Aside from her terrible taste in breakfast foods.

“Now, let's begin by teaching you some basic moves...”

  
~-~-~-~

 

“Alright kiddo, lets get ready to get you into gear!”

After Ashi's strenuous lesson – and a hearty lunch with more fish, some weird noodle-soup with onion, egg and pork she called “ramen,” rice and fried greens – it was now Shidou's turn to take over training. Ashi had reclined on one of the benches, her naginata resting against the side of it, and a book was perched in her hands. Shidou stood before him, next to a rather tall building.

Shidou stood with her hands on her hips before Sora. “Are you _ready_ to meet the challenges that you face with me as your trainer?!”

“I am!” Sora shouted enthusiastically, excited to see what kind of training was in store for him. It couldn't _nearly_ as hard as Ashi's! His arms were _dying_ after all of that!

“Alright! Let’s get started!” Shidou chirped, pointing to the roofs. “We're going to go up there for our next challenge!”

Sora gawked. “I…I’m supposed to do _what_?”

“Get up to the rooftops!” Shidou encouraged with a bright grin, “You’re going to jump rooftops for strength, coordination, speed and balance! It’s basics of the _basics_!”

Slowly, Sora turned his attention towards Shidou, looking somewhat sheepish while he spoke in a small, meek voice, “A-and how the heck am I supposed to even _get_ up there? I-I can’t jump that high!”

“Wall-jump then, _duh!_ ” Shidou said this as if it was common-place knowledge, complete with a roll of her eyes.

“W-wall _what_ now??” Sora inquired, looking totally baffled.

“Wall-jump!” Shidou stated again, but received a confused expression from her companion. Sighing, she scratched her head, “Sheesh, you don’t even know how to wall-jump? It’s the most basic skills of armed combat!”

“W-well excuse me for not knowing about the fine art of combat!” Sora huffed.

“Jeez, I guess we’ll have to go back to basics, then…” Shidou sighed again, shaking her head.

“…She says it like I’m _dumb_ for not knowing…” Sora muttered under his breath, flushing slightly with embarrassment for his lack of martial training. He could _feel_ Ashi's scrutinizing gaze over the edge of her book. Ugh.

“Well then! Let's get cracking on _that_ , shall we?” Shidou turned to Sora after this, popping her knuckles, “Wall-jumping is pretty much what it sounds like; you jump off of a wall! It’s used to gain heights you can’t achieve with _normal_ jumping!” Lifting his head up, Sora nodded at this as she continued, “Because we don’t use firearms or projectiles as weaponry, we have to train our bodies for super-human fetes so we can face those who _do_ use firearms! So!” She turned around and pointed to a wall, “We learn how to wall-jump and, with that, strengthen our bodies so we don’t need to as often! Let me demonstrate!

“Now,” Shidou continued, “I’m going to jump off of that wall there. Because your trajectory will change by pushing off of the wall, I’m actually aiming for the roof _opposite_ of that.” To this, she pointed to the roof above the Inn. “I’ll jump into the air aimed high on the wall, then plant my feet on it and push off of that again.”

And, without another word, Shidou took off running to the wall in question. Jumping off of the ground, she soared about fifteen feet in the air, her feet planting against the wall and resting her hand against it. With a grunt, she shoved off of the wall and soared in the opposite direction, high enough to land on the roof of the inn.

“See! It’s a simple principle!” She shouted, leaping back down and landing beside Sora, who was gawking again.

“W-wow….!” He exclaimed in awe. “Amazing…!”

“That’s not all,” Shidou grinned, raising her voice so he could hear her, “There are other ways to get to a building’s roof too. It’s all about being observant about your surroundings and knowing what you can use to boost yourself. Like, you could jump to that awning over there,” She pointed to demonstrate, “Then onto the ledge up above _that_ too. You can also use your equipment too, like so!” Whipping out one of her yo-yo’s, Shidou leaped into the air and tossed it, the bladed item wrapping around a flag pole. Giving a jerk, she lurched herself into the air up above it, unlatching it and landing on the roof. She struck a pose – Sora applauding her effort – and then jumped back off again, doing a quick flip before landing on the ground.

“You can run up walls too, but only _if_ you’re fast enough.” She offered, “Bbuutt…I don’t think you’re _quite_ up to snuff to do that yet, kiddo. Wall-jumping is probably your best bet for now!” Sora gave a nod of his head, “You want to give it a go?”

“Yeah!” He looked at a wall with determination.

“Just get used to the wall-jumping part. It takes a bit!” Shidou encouraged, “Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll get it in no-time!”

Pursing his lips together, Sora sized up the wall. He knew he could jump from the ground to the ledge the Inn was on – or rather, so he could grab onto it – so he figured to try his luck. Dashing forward, he gained speed and jumped head-long at the wall…

…Only to crash right into it.

Sora gave a shout of pain when he fell down onto his butt, rubbing his now very sore nose. “O-ow…”

“Take it easy, kid!” Shidou grabbed onto one of his arms, helping the teen to his feet, “Don’t try running at it, just jump. And remember to angle yourself so your feet touch the wall!”

Righting himself, Sora gave a nod of his head and jumped at the wall again; once again crashing into it. He tried again, and again, and again; he wasn’t sure what the heck he was doing wrong in this adventure, but his face sure did hurt. After the fifth try, he landed on his butt again and groaned.

“Man, I admire your determination, but you’re not _quite_ getting it,” Shidou once again helped him to his feet, “Um…let me try to explain this a bit better…when you jump at the wall, don’t just straight-up _jump_ …you gotta angle your feet out!”

“I’m _trying_!” Sora complained, glaring at the wall as if it had done something to offend him. “It’s not working!”

“…Okay, let me see…um…” Scratching her head, an idea came to Shidou, “Oh! When you jump at the wall, go like your going to _kick_ it! That should do the trick!”

“Why didn’t you say that before?” Sora groaned, finding this explanation much easier for his simple mind to handle.

“I thought you’d figure it out on your own!” Shidou explained, though it seemed as if she was being demeaning to his intelligence again.

Sighing angrily, Sora pursed his lips together, preparing himself should he fail and hit his face again. With a deep breath, he leaped at the wall, kicking his feet out towards it.

And, like some kind of a miracle, his feet made contact. Without even realizing what he was doing, Sora pushed himself off of the wall with his giant yellow shoes, launching him sideways and causing him to crash _right into_ Shidou, who seemed unprepared for a 14 year old to _launch_ himself at her. The pair tumbled backwards some ways, landing right before Ashi's feet.

“I see it's going well...” She muttered sarcastically, returning to her book.

“O-ow! Man, you gotta learn to _aim_ , kid!” Shidou chuckled, rolling onto her butt and helping herself and Sora to their feet.

“Heh heh…” Sora chuckled, his chuckle swiftly turning into laugher, “Hahaha! Did you _see_ that, Shidou?! I did it! I _actually_ did it!”

“Good job!” Shidou congratulated, patting him on the shoulder, “Next time, learn to aim _up_ instead of _sideways!_ ”

And so this continued for what must have been several hours. With each jump he made, Sora improved. First he was able to angle himself upwards, and then he was able to go at it running, giving him greater height. Each time he leaped, he found himself going higher and higher, finding that he could _easily_ reach the height of two and a half stories. Sure, he did misfire a few times and landed on his butt, but it wasn’t much to deter his confidence.

Shidou kept making things more interesting for him, too. Ranging from having him do two wall-jumps in a row down an alley, down to jumping, grabbing onto something and _then_ wall-jumping.

Needless to say, Sora met all of his challenges head-on and Shidou couldn’t help but to beam with pride. Even the most skilled of those she had taught this to before took some time to get it right; often _days_. Sora had near-mastered it in a matter of a few _hours_. It appeared as if his noodley legs _did_ have some oomph to them!

“Hey Shidou,” The voice of Bartz called as Sora was in the middle of wall-jumping three times, causing the other girl to look over her shoulder.

“Yeah?”

“Some Heartless showed up in the back alleys!” Bartz exclaimed, “Yuna's trying to hold them off, but we could sure use a hand!” In a low voice, he muttered, “And who _knows_ where the hell Leon's disappeared to...do you think you could help?”

“Of course!” Shidou exclaimed, just as Sora landed beside her. “Sora, I gotta go take care of this.”

“W-what? I want to help, too!” Sora whined.

“Look, you’re probably tired from all of this and I want you to keep going!” Shidou encouraged, “It’s probably nothing that Bartz and I can’t handle. Keep at it, kiddo!” And, with that, she and Bartz disappeared down the alley, off to slay some Heartless.

Sighing, Sora looked up at the building and took off at it, leaping against the walls like he had been. He kind of would rather be fighting the Heartless; but they were hardly a threat since they got rid of the big purple one. Even Ashi wasn’t in any hurry to go fight them, and her latent ability to feel them must’ve been strong enough to sense all of them in the entire city.

Sora continued his effort to scale walls, jumping higher and higher with each attempt. His legs felt like jello, but he had to keep going! If he could make it to a roof, he'd have smooth sailing, right? However, when he landed on an awning to try and climb further, he heard an unusual sound. Music, a song. It echoed from down below, and it wasn't something he had heard before.

Squinting his eyes and peering over the landscape, he noticed there wasn't anyone around. No Heartless, that's for sure! The only other person he saw...was Ashi. She had closed her book and left it on the bench, and she now lay on the concrete railing of the balcony by the inn, looking up at the stars. The song seemed to come from her, and was in a language he didn't understand.

Swinging back down to the balcony, he approached her cautiously. Her voice was beautiful, but eerily haunting. Like a siren, maybe. Especially echoing off of the empty second district. Her arms were folded behind her head, one leg propped up on the balcony and the other dangling off the edge. He wondered what she was singing...

Suddenly, she stopped. “Taking a break?” Stopping in his tracks, Sora gulped. Was she going to scold him? “The stars are dimmer here then my world.” Instead, she spoke with almost a wistful tone, her eyes gazing at the sparkling heavens. “All of the lights, I think, drown them out.”

Looking up, Sora nodded his head. “Yeah, I think so, too.” He looked back down at her, glad she wasn't mad at him. “My island is pretty small, and in the middle of the ocean. It's not as bright there as it is here, and the stars _do_ look more dim to me, too.”

“Glad it's not just me.” Ashi sighed, before she began to hum again. What a pretty voice she had...

Sora hopped up onto the concrete edge and laid down, resting his head close to where Ashi's was. Folding his arms behind it, he watched the stars too. Strange to think that all of those stars were individual worlds...how little he really _did_ know, just like that weird man said. And as content as he was to listen to Ashi's humming, he did want to know a bit about her.

“Ashi...what's it like on your world?”

She stopped, and was silent for a long while. “...It's nothing like yours.”

“What makes you say that?” He asked.

“Your world is peaceful, isn't it?” Ashi's voice grew distant. Sora sat up and looked down at her, noticing her almost...troubled expression. He furrowed his brows and nodded, though she was looking through him. “You wouldn't like where I come from.” Sighing, she lowered her gaze from the stars.

“Why not?”

With another sigh, Ashi shook her head. “All I've ever known is battle and war. My world has been torn apart by constant in-fighting, wars and disputes since before I can remember.” She bit down on her lower lip. “Nothing but endless _battle_. There's barely time for peace. Then, the foreigners from across the sea came...and it just made it worse.”

Sora looked down at her in pity. “I...I-I'm sorry, I had no idea...”

“Don't be.” Ashi lifted her eyes up to meet his gaze again, “It's not your fault, or mine even. My kingdom – if you can even call it that – is very insular and so rival lords and samurai are always fighting to get a piece of land from the other. We were doomed to fight each other one way or another.” She gave a hollow chuckle. “So I guess you can say I have experience with fighting countless battles.”

“Still--”

Before he could finish, Ashi changed the subject. “But...it's beautiful there.” Another wistful smile played her pale features. “When it's calm and there's a moment of peace...it's quiet. The trees blooming in spring or laden with snow in the winter are beautiful no matter what. Endless forests and towering mountains as far as the eye can see.”

Sora smiled then, trying to paint a picture of it in his mind. He had never seen a forest before, at least not with his own eyes. Sure there were trees on his island, and the surrounding ones...but no forests. He tried to imagine mountains covered in trees, and he smiled at the thought.

“It sounds pretty.” He said.

“It was,” Ashi gave another hollow chuckle, focusing on the stars. “But, now it's gone.”

A pang ripped through his heart when she said that. Sora looked down at his hands, feeling incredibly homesick. He had wanted to explore other places, but at the cost of losing his home, his mother? Never, not in a million years. Ashi must be homesick, too.

“I'm sorry, I didn't mean to remind you.”

Sora looked up to see that Ashi had shifted to a sitting position, looking at him with concern. He forced a smile. “N-no, it's okay! I-I mean, we both lost our homes to the Heartless, right...?”

“You obviously miss your home,” Ashi continued, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. “And it sounds wonderful. I'm sure we'll find a way to bring it back.” She squeezed his shoulder. Another wistful smile. “While I will miss the beauty and the quiet...I don't ever want to go back there.” Her gaze darkened.

Sora looked up with a start, his eyes going wide. “What...?”

“I'm tired of constantly fighting an endless war that I have no hope of winning,” Her voice was stern, and her gaze focused. “I hated what it was turning me into. I hated fighting for the Shogun, even though I know we _need_ change in order to survive, to learn from the foreigners. I've fought so long against ideals I don't believe in, that I've lost who I am in the process.”

Sora opened his mouth, then closed it. He took a breath in; what Ashi was saying sounded logical. He'd hate to be stuck in that loop, too. Could he actually win against the Heartless, though?

“I have nothing for me there. My father is dead, and while I was heir to his lands, as soon as I married they would go to my husband.” Ashi gave a frustrated sigh, looking away. “But out here...” Once again her voice turned softer, lifting her eyes up towards the sky. “Here I can be free. I can be free to choose. Free to find my heart again. The heart I feel like I've _lost_...so long ago.” Returning her attention to Sora, she smiled faintly. “That's why I joined you, Sora. While fighting the Heartless is just another battle for me to get involved in...it's not like the others. We're fighting to save _all_ of those worlds out there from their darkness. It has a meaning and a purpose; not senseless infighting to get Lord Such-and-Such's lands.” She squeezed his shoulder. “So...thank you, for allowing me this opportunity to learn about cultures outside of my own, and to help fight a battle with _meaning_.”

Sora felt his heart throb at her smile, her words. Wow...under all of that gloom and strict personality, there was a real, kind person in there. Someone who wanted to do something more then just constantly fight and get lost in the bloodshed. Feeling his cheeks warm, he smiled back at her.

“I'm glad to have you, Ashi!” He said enthusiastically, “You're strong and skilled! And, uh...a-a go-good cook...?” Sora wasn't sure how to end that on, feeling even _more_ embarrassed by it.

Surprisingly, she chuckled. “You've got quite the way with words, don't you?” Her sarcastic comment made him pout, the embarrassment flying away. What a confusing girl!

However, before they could keep chatting, Ashi suddenly grew tense, snapping her head down the way.

“What is it…?” Sora inquired, looking over in that direction as well.

“Who’s there?” Ashi shouted in a cold voice, piercing through the cool afternoon air.

Sora squinted. He didn’t see anyone over there; what the heck was Ashi talking about? Was she going insane or…or were more Heartless going to appear? He stood at the ready behind her, prepared to summon his Keyblade at a moment’s notice…

What came down was not a Heartless at all. A figure stepped out from behind a wall, looking timid. She was a lithe and somewhat short young woman – who couldn’t have been much older then Ashi - dressed in maroon and with pale yellow hair with a mixture of green in it. A cape fluttered down behind her, ending at her knees. The girl looked over at Ashi with soft, forlorn eyes, raising a hand up before her chest, holding it in a loose fist there.

“I…I’m sorry,” The girl said in a gentle, soft voice, barely above a whisper; “I didn’t mean to…hide from you. I…I just have no idea where I am…”

  
~-~-~-~

 

“So, Tina…”

The group had gathered around one of the rooms at the hotel after the mysterious girl had shown up on the streets of Traverse Town. Shidou had returned with Bartz and Yuna – Leon was still nowhere to be found – and they brought the girl to the hotel.

The girl, whose name was Tina, sat in one of the plush arm chairs while everyone surrounded her, staring at her. She didn’t seem to like the stares, her eyes directed towards the floor.

“…You don’t remember anything that happened to you, just that you wound up here?” Yuna continued, looking over at the girl with pity in her eyes. Softly, Tina nodded her head, her pale hair bouncing gently as she did.

“My friends and I – we were trying to make a difference in…my…m-my world, is it?” She said in her same soft, quiet voice, looking up at Yuna. The other girl nodded her head softly. Tina gave a sigh and continued to study the carpet, “I don’t know…I’m not quite sure I understand what’s happening – just that the Empire started using these weird shadow creatures against us…”

“The Heartless!” Sora exclaimed in a hushed tone, glancing over at Yuna. The summoner met his gaze and gave a slow nod of her head, then returned her attention to Tina. She placed a hand on the frail-looking girl’s arm in a comforting manor.

“I fear your world is no more, Tina.” She said in a soft tone.

Tina lifted her head up again, meeting Yuna’s controlled gaze, though her pale eyes widened. “W-what…?”

“Those shadow creatures,” Yuna went to explain, “Are beings known as Heartless. They’re attacking thousands – if not millions – of worlds everywhere…destroying them one by one. Somehow, if they were in your world and now you’re here…it means they succeeded.”

“No…” Tina whispered breathlessly.

“I’m so sorry…” Yuna whispered, squeezing her eyes closed and lowering her head.

“…My friends…Locke, Celes, Edgar, Sabin, Setzer…a-a-all of them…t-they’re… _dead?_ ” Tina’s voice cracked as she said this, quivering as much as her slender form trembled. Tears formed at her pale blue eyes. She raised a single hand to her lips to stifle a sob. Yuna couldn’t even look at her.

“…Unless they found a way into a path like you did…I…I-I’m sorry to say…” Yuna couldn’t even finish her sentence as she heard Tina let out a little sob.

Sora clenched his fists.

How could this keep on happening? Already, in the span of just two days, two worlds had been swallowed up by darkness - destroyed by the Heartless. He knew that many lives were lost in the process; good, honest people undeserving of the abyss. People who didn’t deserve to die, to disappear…people who deserved to live on, peacefully, instead of just _vanishing_ like that.

How could this keep on repeating itself?

Behind pursed lips, Sora gritted his teeth. Behind his endless blue eyes, torment churned within his mind. Somehow, seeing Tina here, crying silently into her hands over the lost of her world, her home and her loved ones pushed him over the edge.

No more. No more death, no more separation, no more sadness or tears. Sora unclenched his fists and marched over to Tina, grasping her delicate hands within his large awkward ones. The girl looked up at him between her tears, the boy giving her hands a soft squeeze.

“I won’t let this happen to anyone else ever again!” He proclaimed strongly, his conviction painted within his intense eyes, within his serious expression. “I promise you, and everyone else…I will find a way to stop the Heartless! I don’t want another world to vanish into darkness not now, or ever again! I’ll do everything I can, Tina…” At this, he found a way past his anger and smiled down at her, giving her hands another squeeze, “...To make sure that everyone is happy, always. I’ll find a way to save your friends…just like I’ll find a way to save mine.”

“Sora…” Tina whispered softly, her tears having stopped as Sora spoke to her with such conviction and… _truth_ behind his voice.

“So don’t cry anymore, okay?” Sora continued, still smiling down at her. Tina gave a soft nod of her head, slipping one hand away from Sora’s and wiping the tears from her eyes.

“…T-thank you…Sora,” She said softly, “I...don’t even know you, but…I feel as if…you _will_ stop these Heartless things…”

“Heh heh…” Sora chuckled, releasing her other hand and flicking his thumb against his nose, “I always keep my promises, Tina! You can count on me!”

Ashi silently watched from the corner she stood in. As Sora spoke those words, spoke them from his heart and poured all of his conviction within them, she realized something: maybe, just maybe…Sora would exceed her expectations…maybe he _would_ rise above it all and do what he said he would do. Perhaps his heart was stronger then any other heart in all of the universe…

 

…And maybe, just maybe, he would be the one to save them all.

 


	2. Birthday Wishes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Between Chapters 13 and 14, a light and fluffy Birthday Party for Sora!

 

Norte Dame was...hectic to say the least.

Shidou was glad to be back on Fuku. Both she and Ashi voted to give the kid a break in training; he had done phenomenally well the entire time! He kept his cool, managed to come up with a brilliant plan, and his magic was top-notch the entire time. Plus both of his trainers were tired as all get-out, too! Shidou was exhausted and just wanted some time to re-lax herself, and even though Ashi was her usual quiet self, she could tell. It was so strange to think she could get a handle on the other girl now! The usual stoic Ashi was actually opening up now, and relaxing around the pair she was stuck with. There was some sass in there - and some ripping good insults! Shidou was starting to like Ashi more and more, even if she was still a bit dull.

Right now, Shidou was flumped on the sofa in the entertainment room. Ashi was outside, working on her ever-growing garden (seriously, that girl was going to turn the entire place into a field of flowers, veggies and herbs!), and she had no idea where Sora had gotten off to. Probably napping, honestly. It’s what he usually did when he could get away with it. She grinned. It reminded her of someone else she knew, from forever ago...

She had her tablet pulled up and was playing some stupid otome game on it, when Shidou felt a weight flop down on her.

“Oof!” She grunted, lifting her tablet up to see Sora collapsed on her. She laughed and ruffled his hair; Sora was a cuddler, that was for sure! He hadn’t worked the gumption up to cuddle with his raging crush yet, which was surprising. Even being near Ashi turned the kid into a tomato! But he cuddled with Shidou aalllll the time. Watching TV, playing Pokemon, or even napping he’d flop on her or lean against her. Shidou had the feeling he did it with Kairi and Riku too. She wondered why Riku, since it sounded like Sora had a crush on his “to-kool-for-skool” friend too. Maybe because they grew up together? Who knew. He was flashing her his trademark sad puppy eyes, too. “Uh-oh...what did you break?” Shidou teased, smirking down at him.

“...Did you know it’s April already...?” Sora mumbled into the comfortable sweater Shidou had changed into. He was drawing circles into the bundled up fabric, his voice muffled by the bulky fleece.

Shidou was taken aback, actually. She glanced at her tablet and pulled up the date. April 14th, actually. “Well, I’ll be darned!” Shidou exclaimed, raising her eyebrows. “Gosh diddly dang, has it really been five months since we met?” Sora quietly, almost _meekly_ nodded. What was up with the melancholy? Wasn’t like her usual peppy, spunky kiddo! Still, Shidou continued on with her usual vigor. “Well, hot _dog_! Pretty soon it’ll be our 6 months, eh?” She teased, ruffling his hair. Not that she knew exactly what day that would be, and they’d probably be stabbing some Heartless or whatever then, anyway.

Sora sighed and hung his head, burying it into the soft fabric of her sweater. He snaked his arms around Shidou’s waist and hugged her. Ok, something was definitely up. Sora was also a hugger, like. He hugged Shidou all the time (once again, never Ashi, but he was currently the perfect height to be right in her cleavage if he did!) and basically anyone else he considered a friend - which was everyone - but he only hugged while cuddling if he wanted to be comforted. Shidou furrowed her brows.

“Ok, kid. What’s eatin’ ya?”

“...It’s my birthday...” Sora mumbled, barely audible from the pouting and the sweater. “... _Was_ , I-I mean.”

“Eh?!” Shidou sat bolt upright, nearly launching poor Sora off of her. He sat cross-legged on the couch, wearing a baggy-as-hell hoodie that Shidou insisted he wear when he got cold, which was _all the time._ He looked down at his way too big feet. “When?!”

“...March 28th.” He replied simply. “...We missed it, in all the excitement and...” He chewed on his lower lip, then sighed another heart-heavy sigh. “...And it’s the first time away from my home, my friends, and--”

“Well!” Shidou popped up to her feet and put her hands on her hips. She couldn’t have a sulky, mopey Sora! While it was true they missed it by a few weeks, with how hard it was to keep track of time with all of the world hopping and fighting Heartless and all...it didn’t mean they should just skip it! “Doesn’t mean we can’t celebrate it!” She put her hand under Sora’s chin and lifted it. “I know we can’t replace Riku and Kairi and your Mom, but! We can do a little party, the three of us!” She grinned, “So give me a grin!”

Sora didn’t smile. He looked down with his eyes and heaved a heavy sigh. “...I miss them.”

Sheesh, kill the mood, why doncha! Shidou sighed and dropped her hand, tilting her head and peering down into his eyes. “I know you do, Sora. You miss them something fierce, huh?” He gloomily nodded his head.

“I miss Riku always picking me up when I fell and teasing me about it, especially when I did something really stupid.” He managed to crack a wan, half-smile. “Or how he’d always have a joke ready to make me smile if I felt bad. A pat on the back or something encouraging to say.” He gripped his ankles with his large, awkward hands. “He’d always have something to say to make me feel better if I was down, even if it was teasing me. It’s how he showed affection, as weird as it was.” Sora shrugged his shoulders. “But if someone was picking on me, or I fell or got hurt, he was always there to help me. My knight, I guess.” His cheeks turned a little pink, “I miss that the most about him, and that little grin he had.” He chuckled, looking up to meet Shidou’s gaze. “He was always so cocksure. I’m sure he’s out there trying to find Kairi right now and probably making fun of me behind my back for moping!”

Shidou smirked and patted his shoulder. “I’m sure he’s going, ‘Hah, look at you, Sora! Quit hiding in your hoodie and man up!’”

Sora chuckled, “Yeah, probably!” He sniffed and flicked his nose. “Kairi’s probably telling him to stop teasing me! She’s always the nice one and scolding Riku for being too hard on me!” There it was, a real grin from the kid! Shidou felt herself relaxing now. “But Riku always puffed up his chest and would slap me on the back and say, ‘Nah, it’s good for him! No way a softie like Sora will ever toughen up if I’m not hard on him!’ And then he’d beat the crap out of me.”

“What a great friend,” Shidou snickered sarcastically, shaking her head. Reminded her of another friend she had. Sora chuckled.

“I know, right?! He’d still do anything for me, and I’d do anything for him!” He laughed, “Same for Kairi! She’d do other things to pick me up, like tell me one of her stories, or give me little things. Like...things that everyone else thought were insignificant, but meant so much!” He rummaged around in the front pocket of his hoodie. “Like this!” He pulled out a bunch of sea glass on a string, “This relates to a story she told me about mermaids! And because it was her story, it means a lot to me! It’s like a piece of her is with me, and when I fidget with the glass here, I remember her and how the mermaids saved the sailors lost at sea, and I know I’m not lost, either.” He grinned brightly, lifting the different colored, smoothly polished sea glass up to catch the light from the ceiling fan above them.

Shidou grinned, looking up at the light through the glass too. “Man, I can’t wait to meet the both of them!” She flopped back down on her back, picturing them in her mind. “I’m sure we’ll find them soon, Sora!” She peered up at him, glad to see his mood brightened to talk about his dear friends like he was. “And I’m still going to work with Ashi to throw you a little belated 15th birthday party!”

Sora lowered the sea-glass bracelet and looked over at her, flashing a sheepish grin. “Actually, I-I was actually wondering if we could...maybe go to Traverse Town?” He asked nervously. Sheesh! It was like he was asking Ms. Weasel Up-Her-Butt for something! “L-Like, I know it’s not the same as my home, but...those people there are my friends, too! I-It doesn’t need to be big or fancy, but--”

“Are you kiddin’?!” Shidou shot up and gave him a hardy slap on his back. Sora nearly hit the floor with his face, but managed to catch himself with his hands this time. He was learning! “We’re going to have an all-out birthday bash!! You’re 15, kiddo! Getting stronger by the day, and with all the horse feathers being thrown at ya...you deserve a big ol’ bash!!”

Sora popped back up to his feet and store at Shidou with stars in his eyes. “R-really?!”

“Really!”

“But what about Ash--”

“Pfft!” Shidou made a dismissive wave of her hand, “I’ll talk to Ms. Doom-and-Gloom herself! No way she’ll turn down a party for her favorite person!”

Sora promptly turned bright red at this comment, just as Shidou planned. “F-Favorite...?”

Excellent! Shidou found herself smirking and leaning towards Sora. “You should ask her yourself~” She teased, before setting off to let him stew in his thoughts.

Now, to find Ashi and explain what the heckie-who a birthday party was.

 

\-----

 

Okay, Sora. Breathe. You got this. Just...j-just knock and it’ll be okay. Okay. Okay. Just. Go. Go. Do it. Okay. Knock. Do it. Do--

 

“Are you planning to just stand out there?”

Sora nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard Ashi’s voice from inside of her bedroom. And she was there, standing in her open door frame before he even realized it! When did she get there?! Sora recoiled backwards and his face was burning, staring up at her. She raised a brow and sighed, stepping aside.

“Just come inside, Sora. I promise I don’t have venomous snakes inside, or cursed the doorway.”

Sora jumped again. “A-ah...r-right...!” He flushed more, rubbing the back of his head. He scurried inside, and Ashi slid the door closed behind him.

Ashi’s room wasn’t...what he expected? Well, he didn’t know what to expect, honestly. Both his room and Shidou’s were “normal” in his eyes, really. Twin sized beds, dressers, desks, though Fuku had replicated his room back home at first. He had asked it to be changed, since every time he walked in, it made him homesick. Shidou’s was designed differently then hers at home, she said. Ashi’s, however, was totally different.

There was a little place where her slippers were that she wore inside rested, then a step up to where the rest of her bedroom was. It was the biggest room of theirs, and very...open. She had sliding doors that had no windows in them, and were left open to the outside enclosure, leading to the balcony that wrapped around to all of their rooms on the top level of the cottage. Some kind of wind chime rang from the balcony in the gentle, simulated breeze.

There were no dressers, but similar sliding doors off to the sides only without the small, squared sections, and another sliding door similar to the one that exited her room. Another ledge up - higher then the rest of the room - lead to where a very, very low-to-the-floor desk was, with a blanket attached to the bottom. There were some wide cushions there, too. Some books, scrolls and papers with writing on them were scattered about, as well as the tablet Ashi was learning how to use. She had a notebook and sticky notes all over the place, as well as several cook books...but it was all neat and organized. From what Sora could tell, she had no bed to speak of, just...a big empty floor. Her Naginata and Wakizashi were resting on a rack on the far end of the room.

“Make yourself comfortable at the table, Sora. Just take your slippers off, please.” Ashi invited, stepping up and over to the table, kneeling on one of the cushions and spreading the blanket over her lap.

“Oh! Uh...” Sora slipped them off and walked over to her. He didn’t have any experience with this sort of thing, but he also didn’t know too much about her world, either. He noticed the only other cushion was right next to her, feeling his cheeks heat up when he knelt beside her. He felt a chill from the open doors and pulled the blanket over his lap, and found that underneath it was heated. “...Wow, this is...”

“Amazing?” Ashi added, grinning down at him.

“Y-yeah...it feels great!”

“I know. Fuku provided me with one that’s electric instead of with actual coals,” Ashi sighed, pulling her notebook over and fuddling with her tablet, “Less likely to have a fire hazard.” She tilted her head down at Sora, “You also don’t need to kneel, Shidou doesn’t. I don’t want your feet to get numb.”

“Thanks!” Sora was glad, because the last time he tried to kneel for long periods, he stood up too fast and ended up falling over. He sat cross-legged and allowed his now-bare toes to soak up the heat. He then looked over at Ashi, finally noticing she wasn’t wearing her normal clothing, but her...pajamas?

Honestly, it...looked sort of like a glorified bath robe. It was similar to the over-coat she wore, only longer. It was made of a similar material, at least, only lighter-weight. It was a soft gray color, with painted patterns in pale lavender and white going up and down along it. The sleeves were longer, but had less of the square shape that her normal over-coat had. It was also just one layer and tied...kind of loosely, and--

Sora quickly looked away when he caught a glimpse of her collar bone, flushing again. While he was also wearing his pj’s for night time, any time he saw her skin it made him embarrassed. Even her strong, muscular arms. _Darn it, Sora!_ _Hormones_ , it’s just _hormones_! Why was it so hard to get it through his thick head?! He tried to distract himself. So, he leaned over to see what she was working on. It looked like something to do with baking?

As if reading his mind, Ashi responded, “I’m taking notes about how to bake cakes,” She explained, holding her pen with her left hand. The notebook was turned askew so she could read what she was writing. Sora noticed that, despite the angle of her notebook, she had really ridiculously pretty handwriting. She held her pen strangely, not like a normal leftie would...but like how an artist would hold a brush, almost. Was it an after effect from how she wrote in her world? Come to think of it, her handwriting looked like artwork in and of itself...was she an artist on top of being a samurai warlord? She had to have hobbies! Besides gardening and cooking, that is. And reading. She did read a lot...

Ashi spoke up again, “I’ve...never baked before, honestly.” Sora looked back up at her, her pale eyes were focused on the webpage she was on, her hand still writing. “Back on my world, Nihon, we...don’t do this. At all. All of our sweets are mostly fried. Um, actually...they’re all fried or steamed. We don’t have ovens, just hot stones and woks.” She stopped, and chewed on her lower lip. “But I want to bake your birthday cake, Sora.”

“Yeah, I get tha-- _what._ ” Sora stopped mid sentence and snapped his head up towards her. “Y-you--wan...want to...what--?”

Ashi’s cheeks turned pink. “Shidou told me about your belated birthday party, what it is, and--” She swallowed, but wasn’t able to look at him. Her cheeks flushed deeper. “I...I would like to bake your cake, Sora.”

“Wha--” Sora was dumbfounded. Ashi was not only okay with this...but she...she wanted to be part of it? To do the most important part? Something she had no experience with, and never done?! Sora’s heart thudded in his chest. Was...was there really a chance...? That she might actually, really and truly, actually liked him back? Or was it because she thought of him as a friend? Or a big sister? Or--

“Y-you’re...the first person I’ve ever been close to, Sora.” Ashi admitted, not looking at him. Her cheeks were still a little pink and she wasn’t writing or really focusing on anything. Sora’s heart dropped a bit, but he reminded himself that it was just his hormones. That they were friends first! Ashi smiled that soft, sweet smile, her eyes looking almost bashfully down. “On my homeworld, I couldn’t afford to get close to anyone, or truly trust anyone. It was easy for those you grew close to get captured, or betray you, or _both_...or even to die. I didn’t allow myself to get close to anyone, especially men. Most men wanted my hand just because of my appearances-” Sora did know Ashi was beautiful, and very, erm, _curvy,_ “-or for my wealth and land. They wanted to use me one way or another, never to be...my friend.” Ashi sighed and looked over towards him, still smiling.

“You’re my first real, true friend, Sora.” Her smile widened, and Sora felt his heart skip a beat. Seeing her smile just made her look even more beautiful... “That connection I felt with you when we were fighting Frollo I-- I’ve never felt that before! It was incredible, and...I want to show something for it. I want to have a meaningful relationship with you.” Ashi’s eyes flitted down, before reaching out and taking Sora’s hand. Sora couldn’t help but to beam at her, feeling his cheeks heat up. A small hope bubbled in him, meeting her gaze. He squeezed her hand. “As a friend...and...maybe something else...I don’t know. I--”

Sora felt his heart stop for just a moment. Something else...? Did that mean she...maybe? But Ashi couldn’t finish the sentence. This was all new to her, but he was ecstatic that she considered him her first friend! And wanted to bake for the first time for him. His heart was bursting! Without a second thought, he let go of her hand and wrapped his arms around her hugging her tightly and resting his head on her shoulder, taking in her comforting warmth.

“S-Sora?”

“I...I-I’d really, _really_ like you to make my cake, Ashi.”

 

\-----

 

Eventually, Sora worked up enough nerve to ask if he could share a bed with her that night. Not because he “needed” to - though he used it as an excuse - but because he just wanted to feel her warmth. Ashi had agreed without hesitation, and pulled out basically a comforter as a “bed,” and another comforter from one of her closets. She called the bottom one a “futon,” which wasn’t comfy at all! Thankfully, Fuku did make the part Sora slept on a lot comfortable, like sleeping on a cloud! But being snuggled under the big, fluffy, poofy blanket was super warm, and he was even warmer being wrapped up in Ashi’s arms. Which was a nice side-bonus.

They talked while cuddled up together, Ashi’s hand lightly stroking his hair. Being this close to her for some reason didn’t cause any embarrassment to either of them, namely Sora. It...just felt so right, so natural, really. Sora was no stranger to sharing beds with his friends, honestly; he did it with Riku and Kairi all the time! And all of his friends on the playtime island would often have big sleep overs and all of them would just be in one massive cuddle pile at night. Even though his feelings towards Ashi were different then all of them, of course...or were they? He was still confused about Riku honestly. Did he? Or was it just his hormones still going nuts? Ugh, things to think about later. Even with Ashi. Best to just leave it at friends for now!

He also found out that he and Ashi weren’t exactly 2 years apart - more like a year and 8 months. He was going to take those 8 months and run with it! She sang to him when he started to doze off, finding the ethereal and gentle tone of her voice so soothing to him. It wasn’t long before he was fast asleep, tucked under her chin and curled up against her, warm and safe in her arms. Just like with Riku. His knights. The both of them.

Sora just hoped he could work up some more courage to ask Ashi about cuddling in normal day-to-day activities, like he did with Shidou. He missed cuddle piles.

The rest of the journey to Traverse Town he had a spring in his step, feeling excited about his forthcoming birthday party, and also about his interactions with Ashi those days. She was a little warmer with him. He noticed she was warmer with Shidou as well, but then again, Ashi was gradually opening up to the both of them in these past months. But him especially. It made him smile every time he walked past Ashi and waved, and her eyes would soften and a small smile would grace her pretty face. It sent his heart racing of course, but it made him happy. She even allowed Sora to sit and cuddle with her when she was idle. Which wasn’t happening a lot. Or at all, frankly.

Ashi was rather preoccupied the closer they got to Traverse Town.

The kitchen became her experimentation ground for cakes, cupcakes, souffles, tarts, basically _anything_ baked...and all of them ended up being awful. Even when she followed the recipes to a key, something went wrong. Over baked, under baked, collapsing, butter melting out, ending up dry or dense, or just outright exploding. The kitchen had been coated floor to ceiling with cake batter of various flavors, flour was being found everywhere in the cottage, and Ashi had more then one meltdown about buttercream.

Sora had tried to tell her not to worry about it several times during their trip, but he quickly learned that the samurai set her mind to something, she stuck to it. He found that hiding in the entertainment room while she was baking was a very good idea. Thankfully, she still slept, and Sora found he was the one comforting her at night! Usually with stories about his adventures back when he was a kid until she fell asleep. She didn’t seem to mind hearing him gush about Riku or Kairi, at any rate.

Needless to say, he and Shidou ordered out a lot during this time. The Baking Hurricane Ashi could not be stopped. If she ate, it wasn’t when he noticed.

Once they reached Traverse Town, they had more room to breathe.

 

Yuna and the gang were more then happy to take over planning duties, though Ashi quickly commandeered the kitchen for more baking experiments of the large rental home Yuna and the others had settled down in. Ashi even bought a few baking books while in town, including one from cake expert Mary Berry that came highly recommended from everyone (which didn’t help). Bartz also tried to help her with the baking but was fleeing for his life, covered in chocolate cake batter not even an hour later!

“Man! That girl can cook circles around anyone, but I swear some god cursed her when it comes to baking!” Bartz exclaimed when he returned from his shower.

“Ms. Ashi is very...earnest in trying, at least?” Fuu commented politely, sipping her tea. A few of them were taking a break from coordinating the party, in one of the family rooms of the house. Several of the crew had gotten jobs around the city, while others collected bounties on the Heartless that still roamed. So far, no leads on where the Keyhole was for this world. No one seemed keen on finding it, as more lost souls kept popping up. Yuna wanted to keep it open for any further people coming in.

Shidou smirked, nudging Sora in the sides. “I told you that you were her favorite.” She said in an aside to him. Sora just blushed furiously.

“W-we’re just friends...” He muttered. Shidou gave him one of her looks and he wanted to hide in his clothing.

“Maybe we should go to the bake shop down in First, just in case?” Celes suggested, rather pragmatically. She hadn’t seen the Ashi Cake Terror yet, but had heard all of the stories from other members of the gang. Like most everyone who had heard about it, she had avoided the kitchen like the plague. Sora shot her a look.

“No way!” He proclaimed, “I have every faith and confidence that Ashi will succeed! I believe in her!”

Bartz snorted and grinned, “Wow, boy’s got it ba-ad,” He snickered at Shidou.

“You’re telling me!” Shidou smirked, crossing her arms. Sora turned even more red, but shot her a glare. She was unchallenged by it, steely meeting his gaze and flashing him a cool smile. “Kid, I've been around a lot longer then you have.” She leaned over towards him. “You _like_ her. Just admit it, okay? Ask her out.”

“What? No!” Sora yelped, shooting back from Shidou on the couch about a foot. “I-it's n-nothing! J-just hormones!” Shidou instantly dropped her playful expression and looked at him frankly. Her brows fell down and she gained a tired and annoyed expression to her face.

“Seriously, Sora.” She slid back over to him, looped an arm around his shoulder, and started dragging him away from the common room and into a hallway. For someone a slender as she was, Shidou was ridiculously strong! “You need to stop beating around the bush and admit you really like Ashi!”

Sora pursed his lips and glared at her. His heart was racing thinking about it. “S-stay out of it, Shidou!” He huffed, absentmindedly rubbing his left thumb over his right palm, over the crease Esmeralda had noted was his love line. “She's older then I am, and...I-I don't think she--”

“She does.” Shidou crossed her arms.

“What do you know?” Sora snapped. In reality, he was kind of scared. His emotions were in a flurry, and he didn't quite understand them. Yes, he did really like Ashi. He was happy she considered him as a friend, and that should be enough, right? But he knew it wasn't. In truth, he did want more, and knew his crush on her was turning into infatuation. And he was wondering if the same could be said for Riku, too...which just made him more confused.

But Ashi was older than he was. She had also seen an experienced a lot more, too. Sure, she was only a year and some change older, but she acted way older than 16. Of his new friends, she acted like an actual adult most of the time. It...made him feel like an actual child, sometimes. It wouldn't work out. And Shidou butting in was only making him feel more confused and just making things worse.

Shidou sighed. “Look, Sora-- I know I don't look much older than you or act it, either... but trust me: I'm way, way older than either you or Ashi.” Shidou was surprisingly serious right now. Her eyes seemed weary and her face worn. “I've loved and lost. I've had my heart broken a lot. Listen to me: Take your chance and grab it when you can.” She placed a hand on his shoulder. “I know crushes, affection and infatuation and yes, even love when I see it. Yeah, you're young, and so is she, and we're fighting in a war.” She sighed and shook her head, “I know I tease you but take it when you can. Trust me.”

Where did this come from? Sora was taken aback. Shidou suddenly seemed even older then Ashi – or Cid even. And he was like, a bajillion years old! Even with her sudden advice, he...didn't know what to feel. Or think. What she said made sense, but...what happened to her? What was she going on about?

Sora pursed his lips. Shidou released him and shrugged. “Just, ah...think about it, okay?” She grinned awkwardly and scratched the back of her head, returning to her usual self, “Anywhoo, I'm going to go back to party decoration! So get your butt outta here for a bit!” She swatted him on his aforementioned butt, causing him to jump forward and squeak.

“S-Shidou!!” He gasped, glaring at her and turning red.

“Go on, git!” She fake kicked the air, then made shoo'ing motions. Sora stuck out his tongue and left the building.

What the hell was he going to do...?

\------  
  


Without anywhere specific to go, and most of his friends back at the townhouse, Sora just wandered aimlessly around Traverse Town. Of course, the occasional wave of Heartless would pop up, but it wasn't anything he couldn't handle on his own! But it did leave him to his thoughts. About what Shidou said, about Ashi. And him. And maybe Riku?

Well, Riku could wait. He was off being Mr. Hero probably! The nerve! Sora would keep looking on his own for Kairi, while they also sealed Keyholes and looked for Shidou's Miss Mysterious (she still hadn't told them that Keyblade Master's name yet!). But still, too much time to think.

So, maybe he did really like Ashi. Maybe he did want to ask her out on a date. It wasn't unusual for two people from different grades to go out, right? Sora was pretty popular back home at school, since he was so friendly with literally everyone. Ashi probably would be too, because she was so smart and absolutely gorgeous. It wouldn't be unusual for a Freshman and Sophomore to date, right? Or...would she be a Junior? Bah, ages were confusing.

He was so engrossed in his thoughts that Sora lost track of where he was going. Somehow he ended up in the underground aqueducts that ran below the city, and to a cistern where a weird house sat. He nearly fell into the cistern itself, but thankfully his senses were on just enough to stop walking in time.

“Whoa! Where am I?” His voice echoed off of the large walls, radiating upwards towards the grate above where the rainwater would fall. With a blink, Sora tilted his head. “Who the heck would build a house here?” Curious, he jumped across the stones leading to it, and knocked on the door.

The door opened. “Come in, come in!” Came an old voice from inside.

Sora peeked in to find a cozy little cottage...filled with too many books. Stacked literally everywhere. Wow, Ashi would love this place. Except maybe a little more organized. “H-hello...?” He questioned, spotting an old-fashioned stove, a chalkboard (who even used those these days?), a bed and chair, and even more documents, books, scrolls and a cauldron. But no one else. There was an owl sitting on a branch, snoozing.

Suddenly, the ceiling above cracked and came down. “Augh!” Sora jumped back and went to duck for cover, but it came down slowly. Standing on it was a textbook wizard. Robe, looooong white beard, pointed curling hat. Like. He couldn't believe this cartoony representation of a wizard was standing right there. “Uh...”

“Hello, my boy!” The wizard grimed, adjusting his glasses and hopping off of the destroyed ceiling. It raised back up and back into place. “You must be Sora, right?”

“Um...y-yes?” Did he know this wizard?

“Excellent!” The wizard tottled over to the owl and smacked him with a wand. “Archimedes, wake up! The Keyblade wielder is here!”

“Wha—what what??” The owl, Archimedes, gasped, looking frantically around. First talking ducks in this world, now talking owls. Sora honestly wasn't shocked by anything anymore. He blinked and cracked his neck, before spotting Sora. “So I see! ...Didn't need to smack me, though.” He flew over to Sora and landed on a stack of books. “Greetings, Sora! My name is Archimedes! We were sent here by Diana to assist you in learning magic and teaching you a bit about the Keyblade whenever you're in town.”

“I was sent here to do that, not you, Archimedes.” The wizard huffed, ruffling the owl's feathers. Archimedes glared at him.

“As I recall, I helped Arthur the most.”

“Yes, but I was the one who helped those three before!” The wizard noted.

Archimedes eyed him skeptically. “Yes, that is true...but if I'm remembering correctly, they all perished, did they not?”

“We don't know that!” The wizard whapped the owl hard enough to get him to raise his wings up and groan, rubbing his head.

“Aww, don't hurt him!” Sora rushed to the aid of Archimedes, wrapping his hands around the feathered creature. “Cura!” He cast his healing magic, warm green light emitting from his hands. Archimedes let out a sigh of contentment and lowered his wings, fluffing them happily up at him.

“Ah...thank you.” He seemed to smile, but it was hard to tell with an owl. He then eyed Sora. “Well, it appears you already know magic.” He skeptically eyed his wizard...well, friend didn't really apply. “I told you we should have tried to find him earlier, Merlin.”

Sora nodded and grinned, patting Archimedes on the head gently. “Yep! I've been learning from my friends.” But then he realized what the owl had called the blue-clad man. “W-wait...Merlin?!”

“Ah, I see you've heard of me!” Merlin cackled, “Yes, it is I! The great and powerful Mer--”

“Didn't you get sealed in a tree?” Sora pointed at him. Merlin turned bright red in indignation.

“W-well, I'll have you know--” But he was cut off by Archimedes laughing his feathered butt off. Which just made Merlin turn more red. Sora blinked, not understanding what was so funny.

“Oookay...um, sorry?” He shrugged, “Anyway, who's Diana?” The name didn't ring any bells.

Huffing, Merlin straightened his beard, “Isn't she the one you inherited the Keyblade from?”

Sora blinked. “Uh? Nooo...?”

Merlin tilted his head, looked at Archimedes, then back at Sora. “So who did you inherit it from?”

“Inherit?” Sora tilted his head in confusion, scratching the back of his head. “Whaddya mean?”

“Ooooooh boy.” Merlin rubbed his temples. He then waved his wand and a chair suddenly pulled up to Sora and he was forced to sit down. With a flourish, Merlin sat down in another chair. A cup of tea and a scone appeared in Sora's hands. “I suppose it's best we start from the beginning, lad. We have an awful lot of work to do!”

 

\------  
  


Sora left Merlin's more confused then going in. Sure, he had learned more about the Keyblade then he previously knew, but...was still lost. After a two hour lecture.

Apparently inheriting a Keyblade was how one _got_ a Keyblade, but it meant going through some ceremony with a Master or touching one and he hadn't done either. Sora didn't remember doing either of them, and even with a memory spell AND potion and digging through his childhood, there was nothing. Merlin and Archimedes were both perplexed. Merlin mentioned something about needing stronger tea and shoo'd Sora away.

But Sora also remembered what Yuna and the others said – that the Keyblade chose it's own Master based on who had the strongest Heart in the universe. Merlin and Archimedes were both skeptical on that. Hence the stronger tea comment and getting kicked out. Sora left knowing even _less_ about this weird weapon he was given through even more mysterious means then he thought, but figured he'd come back tomorrow. After his birthday party tonight.

He smiled thinking about it, heading back home. His worries about how he felt about Ashi had vanished, finding a spring in his step and wondered what kind of cake she ended up making. She'd pull through, he just knew it!

 

“Happy Birthday, Sora!”

When he walked into the common room, streamers were everywhere. Sora was bright red and beaming when everyone shouted at the same time. A banner hang from the ceiling saying “Happy 15th Birthday,” balloons were everywhere, there were streamers and confetti and presents, and someone had even made a mix tape with his favorite songs on it! He felt both delighted, but also homesick too. He missed Riku and Kairi, his other friends from school, his Mom--

“Happy belated birthday, kiddo!” Shidou practically tackled him to the floor and gave him a big ol' noggie. Sora squawked and managed to catch her, laughing despite the usual attack she did on him. She gave him a squeeze. “It's your birthday party, so no long faces! Sit down and have fun!” Releasing Sora from her death-grip, Shidou whooped and launched a popper into the air.

Sora saw all of the smiling faces around him, unable to contain a grin himself. He flicked the tip of his nose with his thumb. “Right!” he cheered.

The party proceeded as normal. Ashi had _somehow_ taken a break from destroying the kitchen with her baking disasters to whip up an absolutely expansive, amazing buffet for everyone. She was getting better at making the types of food Sora and Shidou were used to, but there was still items that were traditional to her homeworld. And, Sora had to admit, he was growing to like some of them. _Including_ beans. There was also an abundance of different kinds of fruit punch, and everything was to _die_ for. Sora had to wonder if Ashi would soon be as good as his mom when it came to cooking!

Everyone was chatting and having a blast! People were dancing and playing a variety of games Fuku had brought down. Sora was laughing like mad, forgetting all of his confusion about Keyblades and love-related woes. In-between stuffing his face, he played a variety of games with everyone, chit-chatted, and generally had a great time during their buffet dinner.

There was once face missing though: Ashi's. She had somehow snuck out to set up the buffet, but had been absent the remainder of the party. Every so often, Sora would look around for her, but never caught a glimpse of her purple hair or dark gray kimono (what she called her outer coat). But then someone would swing out and distract him again, but he still wondered where she was. Was she still working on his cake...? He really hoped she was alright back there! And nobody had ninja'd out and bought something.

While in the middle of a _very_ heated game of Uno – where 7's and 0's were in play! - the lights dimmed. Sora heard the group begin to sing “Happy Birthday,” which he knew Shidou had been fervently teaching everyone who didn't know it. His heart began to thump and he turned around, nervous _and_ excited to see his cake.

Out came Ashi – finally! - carrying...easily the _saddest_ looking birthday cake ever in existence. It had sparkling candles on it to try and hide the really, really not attractive look of the poor, deflated looking thing. It had 3 tiers to it, each of them a different size both in height and dilapidated width, and each of them looked like they had slid off during the frosting process. They were covered in white buttercream frosting, but it wasn't even at _all_ , and was covered rather unevenly in confetti sprinkles and edible glitter. There were some really sad, misshapen yellow fondant stars on it. As the cake walked past, everyone looked _completely aghast_ at the pathetic looking thing. Even Sora felt his stomach drop down to his feet seeing it.

_Oh no...poor Ashi..._ He thought, his brows furrowing in pity at it. She had been working _so hard_ for weeks to learn how to bake! Sora was so certain she could pull it off, but it just...looked so _awful_.

He lifted his eyes up to the sparklers, smiling at them, then up to her.

His stomach did a leap when he saw Ashi, and his heart started to thump heavily in his chest.

Ashi looked... _gorgeous_.

Obviously, she had taken a lot of time to clean herself up from making the cake. Her face was paler then usual, and she wore make up. Actual, honest-to-god, _make up_. And she _killed_ it. Red lipstick, perfect black winged eyeliner with red highlighting it, soft blush. Her long bang was coiled up and pinned to the side of her head with a beautiful, cascading hair-pin with delicate violet flowers, flowing down the side of her head like a waterfall. She wore an even more formal looking kimono then she usually wore, with the rectangular sleeves practically dragging on the ground. It was white with a black gradient on the shoulders and the bottoms of her sleeves, with pale blue, pink and lavender chrysanthemum designs on it. Over it, she wore a pleated high-waisted skirt that went down to her ankles, with small floral designs on the bottom, looking similar to pants.

Was that how she dressed normally when she was at home? Because...wow...she looked... _wow._..

Sora met her nervous and awkward gaze and beamed at her. He was flushed from forehead to collar bone, but could _not_ take his eyes off of her. Wow, she looked...amazing? Gorgeous? Beautiful?? Well, all of those fit her _normally_ but--

She placed the cake on the table, and he was still staring at _her_ , not the cake. Even when the song finished. Ashi blushed and looked away from Sora, shifting awkwardly. She gestured towards the cake with her eyes.

“Um...” She muttered. Everyone else stood in silence, waiting for him. Sora blinked a few times, then realized how awkwardly quiet it was. Finally, he tore his eyes away from Ashi and looked at the cake.

“...Oh! R-right...!” He exclaimed, blushing even more furiously then he was before. Did...everyone else see that? How enamored he was with her? _Crap._ He wanted to vanish right about now, especially when he heard Bartz and Shidou snickering. But, well-- he _was_ the birthday boy, so of _course_ everyone was staring at him! _Ugh, why--_ Sora buried his face in his hands and ran them through his hair, taking a few breaths to calm down. _Okay, Sora. Focus! Time to make a wish!_

Closing his eyes, he thought of what to wish for. He wanted to find Kairi. He wanted to save the worlds from the Heartless. He wanted to restore his homeworld. Wanted to be sure Riku was safe and back with him, like old times. He wanted Ashi. _Wait, no, that sounds bad!_ Ok, rewind a bit. He wanted Ashi to be his girlfriend. _NO, no!! That's just as bad, Sora!!_ He wanted Ashi to be his _friend_. _But she already is! Ugh! Why is this so difficult!!_ He sunk lower in his chair, feeling everyone's eyes on him.

_Think, Sora! Just one thing! Something simple!_

Taking in a breath, he opened his eyes. Sora looked around him, at all of the smiling faces around him. For a moment, he imagined Riku and Kairi there; his other friends from home; his mom. A small pang hit him in the heart when he thought of someone else who was long gone, and he gripped the crown necklace he wore. Smiling, he thought of his wish.

_I wish for my friends to be safe and happy, always._

And with that, blew out the candles.

\-----

Sora sat on the roof while the party wound down. Despite Ashi's cake looking like something from _Nailed It!_ , it actually tasted pretty good! It was chocolate with raspberry jam in-between the layers. The jam just didn't set right, but it tasted alright. So it was a good cake! Just looked horrible.

It was a good birthday, despite it being vastly different from past years. He still missed his usual crew, but he was glad he had something. New friends, missing the old ones, but next year he'd have everyone safe with him for his 16th!

“Mind if I join you?”

Sora smiled when he heard the voice, looking over in it's direction. “Yeah!” He felt the heat rising in his face.

Ashi folded the pants-like skirt she wore – she told Sora they were called hakama – and took a seat beside him. They were only an inch or so apart. “I hope you had a good birthday, Sora.”

He was once again amazed by how pretty she looked when she wasn't fighting. “Mmhmm.” Sora nodded, still unable to look away from her. “Thank you for making that cake, Ashi.”

She flushed. “It looked like I got it out of the rubbish.”

“But it tasted good!” Sora protested with a small laugh.

“Did it?” Ashi sulked, probably the first time he had seen her do that. She hugged her knees to her chest. “I don't really like the taste of 'cake,' even after eating a good sample of it.” Huh. Maybe that was part of her problem with baking...

“Yeah, everyone else thought so, too!” Sora rolled over and propped his arm up, resting his head on his hand. He smiled at her. “Who cares what it looks like? It's what inside that counts!” Ashi chuckled, tilting her head to look at him.

“Thank you.” She smiled at him, causing his heart to race.

Sora briefly looked away. _Just a bit of courage_ , he thought. He wasn't sure if taking some of Shidou's advice was a good idea, but...she _may_ have a point. Swallowing the lump in his throat, he shyly lifted his eyes back up to hers. “And...um...I-I think you're...r-really beautiful, Ashi.” He mumbled.

Ashi raised her eyebrows. He wasn't sure if the pink on her cheeks was her make up or if she was blushing. “I—thank you, Sora?” She made some kind of a face. One of her brows was raised and she lifted one corner of her upper lip.

Crap, he said the wrong thing! Sora sat bolt upright and waved his hands rapidly in front of her, “N-not just on the outside, though!!” He frantically tried to save himself. “Yo...y-you're a really, re-really, um...” Shoot, now he was all worked up! He wanted to say beautiful person on the inside too, but it wouldn't come out. He was totally tongue tied! Groaning, he put his face in his hands and admitted defeat. “For...f-for-g-get I sa-said any-anyt-thing...”

“Sora...” Ashi reached for him, but Sora flinched and turned away. He had really messed up. Why was he so bad at this?! He had never asked anyone out before, and no one had asked _him_ out, either! Probably because everyone was scared of Riku. He was pretty big and intimidating and handsome and – _okay, not helping,_ he reminded himself. Sora's romantic expertise was limited to movies and TV, but they always made it seem so easy.

“I-I'm sorry, Sora.” Ashi's voice cut through the awkwardness. “I didn't mean to sound like that, I knew...you meant I was on the inside, but--” She sighed, almost sounding heart-heavy. “I do like you. As a friend for sure, maybe something more, but I...I don't know for sure. I don't understand these feelings.”

Sora flinched. He felt her hand on his shoulder, but it just shot sparks of pain through his body. He gripped his knees tightly and tried to shrink down. Ashi kept talking.

“I'm sorry, but I need time. I've spent so much of my life hiding my true feelings away, my true _self_ away, that I'm just now beginning to understand who Ashi-no-Hotaru is.” She trailed her hand down, “I know you care about me and want something more, but I don't know if I do yet.”

Sora nodded, even though he didn't want to. Shidou was wrong about Ashi all along, and the hope he had filling him was shattered. So he was right in doubting how Ashi felt about him after all this time! This was a clear-cut rejection; and it hurt. It hurt a _lot_. Even more then feeling her touch when he knew that she was telling him no, it was too soon to tell how she felt about him. Sora bit down on his lower lip and told himself not to cry, that they were still friends at least! But this hit him harder then being smacked in the stomach by one of those giant Heartless.

“But...if you _do_ want to court me...I wouldn't object.”

Sora blinked. What...?

Ashi had just told him that she needed time...but was now saying she wouldn't _object_ to them dating anyway? Or courting, but that was the old-fashioned way of of saying it. Blinking, he looked over his shoulder and looked at her with confusion.

“Eh...?” His eyes must have been misty because her form was bleery.

“Well, I—I guess...how could I know if I want this sort of relationship with you if we don't try?” Ashi shrugged her shoulders and tilted her head. “Unless marriages were arranged, most of the time couples did court each other. And despite my status, my father always told me to marry for love, so...”

The pain Sora felt a moment ago just...left.

The hope came flooding back, and it hit him _hard_.

Sora launched off of the roof and _threw_ himself into Ashi's arms. Ashi let out a startled squeak, falling backwards onto the roof. “S-Sora!” She followed it up by laughing, wrapping her arms around him.

“Ashi!!” He exclaimed, nuzzling against her neck and taking in the sweet scent of flowers. “Thank you! Thank you thank you thank you _thank you!!_ ” Sora squeezed her tightly, _unbelieving_ his own good fortune! Her laughter was like chiming bells to him, and he didn't want her to stop. So did this make her his girlfriend now? His first girlfriend? Like...they were dating? Officially? For _real?_

“S-Sora, I can't breathe...!” Ashi coughed, though there was still a hint of laughter in her voice.

“Oh, sorry!!” Sora released his tight hug on her, lifting up onto his hands and beaming down at her. “This is, like, the _best_ birthday present ever!”

Ashi chuckled and ruffled his hair. “Remember, this is just simple courting. And we have to take it slow and easy, since I...really have no idea what I'm doing, and also don't know how I feel yet.”

Sora blushed and nodded. “Y-yeah...I don't know what I'm doing, either.” Like, how would they date, anyway? Most of the time they were fighting Heartless, or training. They did other things girlfriends and boyfriends did anyway, like holding hands and cuddling. Granted, Sora cuddled anyone who was a friend, but...he only really held hands with her. And Riku and Kairi. But, maybe they could kiss...?

The thought of kissing Ashi turned him beet red.

“We should get back down to the others.” Ashi sat up, Sora sitting in her lap. “They're going to start gossiping about us.” There was the old Ashi right there, looking disgruntled and annoyed. Sora rolled his eyes.

“Let 'em gossip.” He popped to his feet and took Ashi's hand, beaming up at her. “At least Shidou can stuff a sock in it now!”

Ashi groaned and pinched her nose. “No she won't. Soon she'll be asking us if we've lost our virginity to each other yet.”

Sora nearly passed out at the thought.

But, all in all, a pretty dang good birthday, all things considered.

 


End file.
